23-letter words containing a, f
- conformational analysis — the study of the spatial arrangement of atoms or groups of atoms in a molecule and the way in which this influences chemical behaviour
- conjunctive normal form — (logic) (CNF) A logical formula consisting of a conjunction of disjunctions of terms where no disjunction contains a conjunction. Such a formula might also be described as a product of sums. E.g. the CNF of (A and B) or C is (A or C) and (B or C). Contrast Disjunctive Normal Form.
- constant of gravitation — a law stating that any two masses attract each other with a force equal to a constant (constant of gravitation) multiplied by the product of the two masses and divided by the square of the distance between them.
- constant of integration — a constant that is added to the function obtained by evaluating the indefinite integral of a given function, indicating that all indefinite integrals of the given function differ by, at most, a constant.
- constraint satisfaction — (application) The process of assigning values to variables while meeting certain requirements or "constraints". For example, in graph colouring, a node is a variable, the colour assigned to it is its value and a link between two nodes represents the constraint that those two nodes must not be assigned the same colour. In scheduling, constraints apply to such variables as the starting and ending times for tasks. The Simplex method is one well known technique for solving numerical constraints. The search difficulty of constraint satisfaction problems can be determined on average from knowledge of easily computed structural properties of the problems. In fact, hard instances of NP-complete problems are concentrated near an abrupt transition between under- and over-constrained problems. This transition is analogous to phase transitions in physical systems and offers a way to estimate the likely difficulty of a constraint problem before attempting to solve it with search.
- correlation coefficient — a statistic measuring the degree of correlation between two variables as by dividing their covariance by the square root of the product of their variances. The closer the correlation coefficient is to 1 or –1 the greater the correlation; if it is random, the coefficient is zero
- corridor of uncertainty — an area of a wicket just outside a batsman's off stump, so located that the batsman will have difficulty in deciding whether or not to play a ball bowled into it
- cost-of-living increase — a pay rise that is given because the cost of living has gone up
- court of first instance — a court in which legal proceedings are begun or first heard
- credit-reference agency — an agency, other than a bank, that specializes in providing credit ratings of people or organizations
- critique of pure reason — a philosophical work (1781) by Immanuel Kant.
- cyclohexylsulfamic acid — cyclamic acid.
- dark-field illumination — illumination of the field of a microscope from the side so that the specimen is viewed against a dark background
- debugging an empty file — (programming, humour) A humourous definition of programming that considers a complete absence of any code as a bug to be fixed.
- department of education — the department of the U.S. federal government that administers federal programs dealing with education: created in 1979, largely by transfer from part of the former Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Abbreviation: ED.
- dichlorodifluoromethane — a colourless nonflammable gas easily liquefied by pressure: used as a propellant in aerosols and fire extinguishers and as a refrigerant. Formula: CCl2F2
- dictionary of computing — Free On-line Dictionary of Computing
- differentiable manifold — a manifold having the property that any two overlapping open sets are homeomorphic to locally Euclidean spaces whose coordinates are related by differentiable functions, a property with wide applications in mathematical physics and differential geometry.
- differential compaction — differences in the extent to which sediment is compacted owing to topographic irregularities of the surface on which it is deposited.
- differential psychology — the branch of psychology dealing with the study of characteristic differences or variations of groups or individuals, especially through the use of analytic techniques and statistical methods.
- differential weathering — the difference in degree of discoloration, disintegration, etc., of rocks of different kinds exposed to the same environment.
- dionysius of alexandria — ("the Great") a.d. c190–265, patriarch of Alexandria 247?–265?.
- director of photography — the person who is responsible for all operations concerning camera work and lighting during the production of a film.
- disjunctive normal form — (DNF) A logical formula consisting of a disjunction of conjunctions where no conjunction contains a disjunction. E.g. the DNF of (A or B) and C is (A and C) or (B and C).
- dissociate oneself from — to deny or repudiate any connection with
- drawing exchange format — (DXF) A file format for graphical information, similar to IGES. Commonly used by CAD systems like AutoCAD.
- drummond of hawthornden — William. 1585–1649, Scottish poet, historian, and royalist pamphleteer
- duplication of the cube — the insoluble problem of constructing a cube having twice the volume of a given cube, using only a ruler and compass.
- earliest deadline first — (operating system, algorithm) (EDF) A strategy for CPU or disk access scheduling. With EDF, the task with the earliest deadline is always executed first.
- earthquake-proof design — Earthquake-proof design is design which will not be badly damaged by earthquakes or tsunamis.
- eating your own dogfood — eating one's own dogfood
- electronic file cabinet — a device, controlled by software, for the storage and retrieval of information
- embarrassment of riches — If you say that someone has an embarrassment of riches, you mean that they have so many good things that these things are a problem.
- embden-meyerhof pathway — the metabolic reaction sequence in glycolysis by which glucose is converted to pyruvic acid with production of ATP
- entrance qualifications — academic requirements
- equivalent focal length — the ratio of the size of an image of a small distant object near the optical axis to the angular distance of the object in radians
- fall (all) over oneself — to behave in too eager or zealous a manner
- fall between the cracks — to fail to fit into a given agenda or program
- fall between two stools — If someone has fallen between two stools, they are unable to decide which of two courses of action to take and as a result they have not done either of them successfully.
- fall flat on one's face — to fail, esp in a ridiculous or humiliating manner
- fall through the cracks — to break without complete separation of parts; become fissured: The plate cracked when I dropped it, but it was still usable.
- fear-driven development — (jargon, humour) When project management adds more pressure (fires someone or something). A play on test-driven development.
- fendalton shopping cart — a four-wheel drive recreational vehicle
- ferric ammonium oxalate — a green, crystalline, water-soluble, synthetically produced powder, (NH 4) 3 Fe(C 2 O 4) 3 ⋅3H 2 O, used chiefly in the manufacture of blueprint paper.
- fetal tissue transplant — a surgical procedure in which tissue from an aborted fetus is grafted into a patient to replace or improve defective tissue, especially to treat Parkinson's disease or other neurological disorders.
- field effect transistor — a transistor in which the output current is varied by varying the value of an electric field within a region of the device. Abbreviation: FET.
- field-effect transistor — a transistor in which the output current is varied by varying the value of an electric field within a region of the device. Abbreviation: FET.
- fifth marquis lansdowne — Henry Charles Keith, 5th Marquis of Lansdowne, Lansdowne, 5th Marquis of.
- finite element analysis — Finite element analysis is a type of computer-based analysis which calculates variations of quantities such as temperature or stress in a body by dividing it into small parts with no spaces between them.
- firing on all cylinders — working or performing at full capability